This course will include close reading and analysis of the works of Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), who created a phantasmagorical world of devils and witches coexisting with the gritty details of life in St. Petersburg and the Russian provinces. We will also read works by later writers who either explicitly or implicitly placed themselves in the Gogolian tradition: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Fyodor Sologub, Andrei Bely, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Vladimir Nabokov. Gogol's satirical observations delighted socially-conscious contemporary critics, while his linguistic experimentation and subversion of the rules of logic inspired modernist writers of the 20th century. We will consider Gogol's response to Romantic aesthetics, his interest in the demonic, the influence of his formal and linguistic experimentation on later writers, and the history of his reception by Russian and Western writers and critics.

Essential Capabilities:
Intercultural Literacy, InterpretationBoth class discussion and papers will be focused on the interpretation of literary works. The course requires that students become familiar with the historical and cultural background of Russia from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.

Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia BookstoreGogol, "The Nose," "The Overcoat," other storiesGogol, MARRIAGEGogol, THE INSPECTOR GENERALGogol, DEAD SOULSDostoevsky, "The Eternal Husband"Sologub, THE PETTY DEMONBely, excerpts from GOGOL'S ARTISTRYKharms, TODAY I WROTE NOTHINGBulgakov, HEART OF A DOG, "The Adventures of Chichikov"Nabokov, GOGOLNabokov, PNIN

Examination and Assignments: Frequent short ungraded papers; three longer papers. Attendance and participation required. All written work must be submitted in hard copy. Conducted in English.